[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD CHATOT APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

To say it had been a while since John last trained a fresh pokemon would be incredibly charitable. It had been nearly ten years since he last caught a fully wild pokemon with the intent of doing anything more than nurture it. Thankfully, Bowman wasn't a completely novel case among the pokemon he had trained. In fact, he reminded John a great deal of MC.

"Are you actually mad, or just wound up?" He then asked gently, reaching out a hand to ruffle the space between the Noctowl's large head feathers. He almost lost his finger for his carelessness. If he had been any slower pulling his hand back the guillotine-like snap of the Noctowl's beak would have been interspersed with the crunching of bone.

Right, even MC didn't like being touched right away.

"Okay, we'll focus on calming you down through a battle. That's what I let you out for, after all," John continued in a soothing tone, "How about that? Then we can talk relationship building once you're less . . . snippy."

Of course Bowman didn't have an answer for John. Instead he just turned his eyes to the sky and started searching. John joined him, and soon both of them noticed a little, lone figure flying. Bowman was gone with a beat of his wings not a second later.

"Hey! You're supposed to -- ugh. I forgot how annoying this could be," he grumbled as the Noctowl grew smaller. There was a short trade of something in the air. A shriek from both parties that had them dancing around each other before Bowman started plummeting back towards the ground.

"None of that!" John said mostly to himself, breaking into a run to stand in the path of the Noctowl's potential crash landing, "Come on, dude! Up! You gonna let that little guy knock you out?"

Bowman twisted in the air at that -- or maybe not, it was impossible to know what inspired the movement -- and beat his wings again. It was just enough to keep him from colliding with John. Feathers ruffled, Bowman looked back at John with a heat in his eyes.

"Oh, now you want directions? Let's figure out what their deal is, then. They're coming in hot."

The previously nondescript spot became more vivid as it dived down towards the pair of them. Shadows cleared to reveal colorful feathers and an angrily puffed ruff. A Chatot. How neat!

"Okay, so they're gonna yell again once you're in range. Pull back to limit how much of the sound reaches you, go!"

After only a second's hesitation Bowman took off into the air again just as the Chatot got in range to shriek. The SYNCHRONOISE was diluted by distance but still turned the Noctowl's previously sure path wobbly. John, meanwhile, did his best to preserve his hearing by slapping hands over his ears. It only kind of worked.

"Now!" he shouted, "They can't turn as fast as you can rise, build more distance and batter them with AIR SLASHES."

Bowman circled up as the Chatot tried to come to a stop and change course. They were only halfway through their turn when barely-visible blades of air began to batter their side. John grinned, what a quick study his new buddy was. The Chatot grew visibly more angry as feathers on their body puffed up and their whole body vibrated with the force of the angry noises stewing in their chest.

"You've got them unsteady! They're gonna fly right at you, so meet them halfway with a HYPNOSIS!"

Wild Pokemon were easy. Very few of them were clever enough on their own to do anything sophisticated, and the moment they were made angry what little strategy they did have went out the window. What came next was as easy to read as the next scene in your favorite movie. The Chatot went tearing through the air while Bowman's eyes glowed. Then he dropped until he was face to face with the Chatot and --bang -- the other bird went suddenly lax and went into freefall.

"Don't let them crash!" John shouted, and the Chatot was snatched out of the air by talons large enough to wrap completely around their body.

"Bring them here," he called and Bowman came with the wild pokemon in tow, "Not so bad is it, listening?"

The Noctowl merely huffed.

"Yeah, whatever. Good boy. Yeah you're a -- FUCK!"

John ripped his hand back, previously extended to make another attempt at head scratches, middle finger bleeding from a nasty cut. Bowman landed on one leg -- holding the Chatot up with the other -- and cleaned the red stain on beak with one of his wings.